People urged to vote to help local group

Published:09:35Thursday 27 October 2016

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A local community group is amongst 800 plus not-for-profit organisations across the UK and Ireland who have applied for the latest round of Ulster Bank Skills & Opportunities funding – and Ulster Bank wants the public to help decide which ones should go on to receive grants of up to £35,000 from a total pot of £1.25m, this December.

Banbridge based YouthBank International supports 16-21 year olds in the areas of social entrepreneurship and youth philanthropy.

Through its Build Your Future programme aims to equip young people with the skills and attitudes necessary for employment or running their own small business.

The 800 shortlisted groups include state-funded schools and colleges, charities, social enterprises and community groups.

Each organisation is proposing to set up or extend a project that will give people in disadvantaged communities the skills and opportunities to help themselves succeed in life – whether that’s by gaining a qualification, getting into work or by starting a business.

Sean Murphy, Managing Director, Branch Banking, Ulster Bank explains more about the bank’s commitment to making a difference in our communities: “We’ve helped six projects in Northern Ireland through the Skills and Opportunities Fund so far and it’s fantastic to see the impact of these projects, which are helping people to build new skills, get into work or start their own business.

“I’d encourage everyone to vote for their favourite local project and help us to help even more people and communities across the UK & Ireland. It only takes 60 seconds to vote so get online now.”

To allocate funding fairly across the UK and Ireland, Ulster Bank has divided the projects into seven regions.

Members of the public can vote for one worthy cause in each region up until midday on Friday 4 November. Go to skillsandopportunitiesfund.ulsterbank.com/vote.html to find out more.